"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Heb. 11:6 NIV, emphasis added).
Sometimes my children ask to drink something that is not good for their bodies. You know the kind—sugary juices or carbonated sodas that rot teeth and spike blood sugar levels but taste fantastic. When I deny them and offer water instead, they invariably protest by saying, "But I'm thirsty!" To which I reply, "If you are thirsty, then you'll drink this water because this is what your body really needs."
Spiritually, we are not so different from my children when we compare ourselves to God. He offers us living waters to quench our souls, but we refuse it because we don't feel thirsty—we fill ourselves on spiritual juices and sodas that are nutritionally empty but fool the brain into thinking we're fine, and, more often that not, they taste good going down.
Here's the thing: it's easier to drink juices and sodas than it is water. To quote from a news article about the appeal of these types of drinks:
"A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola has a whopping 39 grams of sugar—that’s equivalent to about 10 teaspoons, and more than we should consume in an entire day.
"But that rush of sweetness also appears to activate the same reward centers in the brain as drugs.... It triggers the release of the brain chemical dopamine in a region known as the nucleus accumbens, and as a result we feel euphoria....
"'The more soda you drink, the bigger the "reward," and as would happen with most pleasurable things, we develop an affinity and want even more of them,' said Cordialis Msora-Kasago, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics" (Drayer, Lisa. "Why soda is so addictive – and some good alternative beverages." cnn.com, emphasis added).
In short, people who drink juices and sodas are given an illusory reward of satisfaction for little-to-no work. But the feeling doesn't last and must be conjured over and over! On the other hand, it takes a lot more dedication and discipline to replace all that intake with water (water is, after all, relatively flavorless and thus perceptibly less enjoyable to drink in the moment)—but the true reward of knowing that your body is healthy and hydrated is real.
Spiritually, the ways of the world are like a sugary, carbonated drink that gives us a false, fleeting reward. And the more you drink it in, the less thirsty you will feel. Most people are so consumed with their preoccupations and worldly fears and concerns that they don't feel the need to bother with religion.
This is not good. God wants us to be filled, but first we must thirst:
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6).
If you feel that the things of God would do you no good or that you would rather be doing anything else above the rites of daily discipleship (prayer, study, meditation, etc.), may I propose a remedy that you may gain the reward God intends for you? Empty yourself of the things of distractions of this world (live simply) until you feel thirst within your soul. Then, and perhaps only then, as you turn to God, he will be able to quench your soul.
Jesus sat down beside [a well] because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and...a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”
“You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won't have anything to do with each other?”
Jesus answered, “You don't know what God wants to give you, and you don't know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give will become in that person a flowing fountain that gives eternal life" (John 4:6 – 14, CEV).
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